Out for a Ride.

Look who was next to me at the stop light this morning.....

Boulder 5430 Sprint Race Report

Well the first Boulder race is in the bag, two to go. I felt I did pretty well for the swim despite the fact that some woman was hitting me and pushing my feet down for much of the first 330 yards. I finally started kicking to let her know "to back off". I was worried about the men in my wave but it turned out that it was women who I needed to do some battle with.  My goggles didn't fog for the first time ever in a race! Spit does work!
As always, the bike was my strongest event. I averaged 20.1 miles an hour and didn't suffer to much. Considering I didn't know the course and haven't been training like I should for the past two weeks, I was very happy with this. Also there were times when you couldn't pass due to cars or narrow areas where you couldn't pass slower riders which probably slowed me up just a little bit. While I had driven the course the night before I would have benefited from riding it at least once.
Now for the run. Well, I fell apart. It was very hot, no shade and I just didn't have it in me today. I walked part of one hill, walked the aid stations where I poured water on my head and stopped to stretch out my painful shin. I have to say that this is very discouraging for me. I know it takes time (years to improve) at this sport but it just seems like I am stuck when it comes to running. I have accepted that all the people that I pass on the bike will be passing me on the run but when I see the rankings and I see what could have been if I was even a half way decent runner, it frustrates me. I can say that the race today has lit a new fire under me along with the reality that the Boulder Peak and HIM are just around the corner. Probably the best part of the race were the cold soaking wet towels that they handed out after the race. I wore that on my head for at least 10 minutes. The other Boulder races are going to be extremely hot and the run is going to be brutal due to lack of any shade. I am really going to have to figure out how to hydrate for that as I sweat a ton and I am on that run course a lot longer then most.

Over all it was a good day. Boulder is a different league for me in terms of competition so with that in mind I feel I did pretty well. here are the stats.

I was 28th out of 68 in my age group.

I was 13th out of 68 on the bike in my age group. ( we won't talk about the run rank)

I was 243 out of 555 woman

I tied for 88th out of 555 women on the bike (Again, I only look at the bike results in that detail as that is the only place I am at all competitive).

Thanks to everyone for the words of encouragement. They mean a lot !

Boulder Sprint Pre Race Pics

These might be the only pics I have of the race as I am flying solo on this one.

The people in front of the stage are trying to find shade. It will be a hot one tomorrow.

I heard that the water is in the high 60s'.  A very good thing.

The racks are numbered. I searched and searched but couldn't find mine. They were still working on it when I left.

I was trying to get a nice picture of the mountains but can only do so much with my Blackberry.

5430 Sprint Pre Race Thoughts.

I have the first of the Boulder tri series races tomorrow. It is the 5430 Sprint which consists of a half mile swim, 17.2 mile bike and 5k. I have not been training as I should for the last two weeks due to some dental issues related to a surgery and I haven't swam at all. I am trying to have an "it is what it is" attitude about this instead of worrying myself to death about it (easier said then done).  There have been a couple of other times where my training has suffered a bit before a race but the race always turned out better then I thought.
 Now, the two times this has happened was due to injury or some other issue and not planned but in the end it has worked out. Who knows what will happen tomorrow. I will just be happy when I am done with the swim  (I am in a wave with men and historically that has proven to be a rougher swim even when I try to stay away) and get through the bike without a flat (I haven't explored the whole rear tire removal on my tri bike and it looks a bit different then my road bike).  As much as I dread the run, I am always relieved when I have made it that far without incident :)
Happy Weekend Everyone!

Elephant Rock 62 Mile Course

This has been quite a weekend!
First the triathlon on Friday, a run on Saturday followed by my first "ice bath" (I didn't use ice though)

and now the completion of the 62 mile course which is part of a huge bike festival that takes place every year. There are between 7000 and 8000 people who participate in this event that offers different ride distances from a seven mile ride to a century ride.
We had great weather but the winds made for some very challenging miles. It was really nice to be able to stop at an aid station, grab a snack and some water, hit the port-a-potty and not worry about the time I am losing.  62 miles is a long way and I couldn't help but think about how this ride would feel with a swim and run attached.  I took my road bike and hit a new max speed of 48.4 miles an hour! Scary but lots of fun!!!

Metro Broker's TriathlON Friday

Last night I completed my first triathlon of the season. It is held on a Friday evening and the proceeds go to Special Olympics and Adaptive Adventures, two organizations that I am very fond off.  I had not planned on doing this race again this year but was given the opportunity to take some one's place at a discounted rate so I jumped on it. I would have probably done it anyway as I decided that doing a race on a course I know would help shake out the cobwebs and give me a chance to race with my new  bike on "home" turf.  I was so nervous though!  For those that know me, they understand that I always get nervous but this was extreme even for me.

The race went well. It is SO hot before the start that I pretty much looked like I had already been in the water before I made it to the beach area. It felt really good to get in the water though of course there was the whole cold water going your back/zipper thing. I had no problems at all with the wetsuit. ( This was my first time in open water this season.

"Warming" up before the start                                           

The uphill run from the swim to the transition area

There were a good amount of waves from the jet skis and boats which made for a rocky swim. The buoys were also white which made it harder for me to see.

The water looks calm here but it was not to be the case once the swim started.

 I had some goggle fogging also but over all the swim went well. I took almost a 1.44 off my time from last year. The bike went well. I was a mile faster (19.8 vs.. 18.8) this year. I am still a bit cautious about turns and rough roads with the new bike so that slowed me up a tiny bit.

Heading out on the bike

 Then the run. For some crazy reason they set up the course wrong and it was shorter then last year. It is the same course but they made the final turn around to soon! I don't get it. One of the measurements that can be almost exact and they mess it up. So... based on running 2.85 miles vs. the 3.07 miles I ran last year I was 40 seconds per mile faster this year. That includes walking the aid station and taking a couple of short walks up the steepest part of the hills.  Aimee offered some encouraging words as she whipped by me VERY early in the run. :)  

                                          

    

This is how it ended up over all.

I placed 17th out of 41 females

Tied for 6th place on the bike amongst females

64th out of 117 overall ( I was faster then 36 men)

3rd in my age group (there were only five of us). As is always the case, if I was a better runner, I would move up quickly in the ranks as I often have better bike splits the the top people in my age group. That is sure to change in Boulder however.  Maybe I should consider an Aquabike.

It was nice to finally meet Aimee(I Tri To Be Me). Congrats on a fantastic race!

Look how serious the guys on the right are while the one  on the far left looks like he is hanging out just enjoying the scenery?